An Excellent Planner

My mother-in-law, Merry Ann, is a planner.  What do I mean?  Consider this:

She plans her meals out ahead of time.
Seems normal, right?  Let me finish.
She even organizes her grocery list in such a way that it matches the layout of the particular supermarket she plans to visit that day.

Sickening, isn’t it?

I guess planning is a good idea.  It takes vision, forethought, and dedication though.  A planner must possess the ability to see big picture things, all the while caring about each minute detail along the way.  Similarly, a planner must put much effort into the strategy or blueprint that will bring him to his vision.  Likewise, a planner must be dedicated and unwilling to move away from the vision and plan, for if errors occur, the plan falls apart.

God is a planner, you know.  He knew that man was going to sin in the beginning, and He set a plan in motion to save humankind only moments after the fall.  Jesus was in the forefront of His mind and on the tip of His tongue only seconds after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.  How do we know this?  In Genesis 3:15 God promises to ultimately defeat Satan,

And I [God] will cause hostility between you [the serpent, Satan] and the woman [symbolic of all humankind, but ultimately Jesus], and between your offspring [offspring of Satan] and her offspring [symbolic of all humankind, but ultimately Jesus].  He [Jesus] will strike your [Satan’s] head, and you [Satan] will strike his [Jesus’] heel.

Which is more fatal, a blow to the head or a bite on the heel?
A blow to the head.

Jesus was God’s answer to the problem of sin at the beginning of time.  God had a plan from the get-go.

Fast-forward.
Past the nation of Israel…
Past the prophets…
Past the apostles
Past the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ…
To the birth of the church…

Acts 2:23 reads,

But God knew what would happen, and His prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.  But God released him from the horrors of death and raised Him back to life, for death could not keep Him in its grip.

God loved humanity so much that He had a strategy to save us from the dawn of time.  Pretty sweet, right?  I guess Merry Ann has nothing on the Big Man.  Just a thought.

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